How Costly is a Bad Sales Hire?

While many companies turn to value selling training to close revenue and margin gaps, few spend the necessary time and energy on getting the right people in the door to develop and retain.

According to Dr. Christopher Croner and Richard Abraham, authors of Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again, a bad sales hire can cost nearly seven times the annual salary for the job.

Ouch.  The math includes revenue shortfalls, customer dissatisfaction, administration and management time.

Think about it.  Salespeople are smart. Their stock in trade is effective persuasion. How can you get around their well-crafted resumes and appealing personalities to determine how well they will function on the job? Will they be able to work effectively with your team?  Will they fit into the culture?  Will they help your clients succeed?

Before hiring for your sales team, make sure that you have the following in place:

1. Definition of ideal client and target market
2. Compelling value proposition
3. Believable go to market strategy
4. Clear success metrics, roles and expectations
5. List of critical technical, functional, motivational, intellectual and cultural behavior-based competencies required to succeed
6. Behavioral interviewing process and skills to identify sales candidates who fit

Then you are ready to attract, develop, engage and retain a high performing sales force.